


How Stephanie Fixed The Waynes

by AshWinterGray



Category: Batgirl (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Under the Red Hood
Genre: All Caste (DCU), Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Damian Wayne is a good brother, Dick Grayson is a Ray of Sunshine, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Jason Todd Has Issues, Jason Todd Needs A Hug, Protective Siblings, Protectiveness, Touch-Starved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:35:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23437045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshWinterGray/pseuds/AshWinterGray
Summary: When Doctor Leslie Thompkins asks Stephanie Brown to look after Jason Todd, she says yes. But Jason's condition isn't what she originally believed it to be. Which means involving Bruce. And, no, she doesn't mean Batman. She means Bruce.
Relationships: Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Stephanie Brown & Bruce Wayne, Stephanie Brown & Cassandra Cain & Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Damian Wayne, Stephanie Brown/Tim Drake
Comments: 27
Kudos: 408





	How Stephanie Fixed The Waynes

Bruce Wayne was Batman. Ready for anything and everything that was thrown his way. Even a great shock, like the Mobius Chair informing him that there were three Jokers, couldn’t sway him easily. He’d gotten used to his kids antics, even the ones that weren’t technically his kids. So when Stephanie Brown called him on his cell phone, Bruce just gave a resigned sigh.

_“Hey, B!”_ Stephanie’s voice was a little to chipper, which usually meant she needed a favor. _“I need a favor!”_

“What did you do now?” Bruce asked, keeping his voice calm.

_“This time? Nothing.”_ And there was the sound of shuffling in the background, and Steph’s voice became a bit muffled as she spoke away from the phone. _“Okay, so, might as well explain myself first. So, Leslie’s clinic is a bit busy tonight-”_

“Are you injured?” Bruce was already standing, flagging Alfred and his sons. Putting the phone on speaker “Where are you?”

 _“What? No! I’m not injured!”_ Stephanie waved off, causing everyone to breathe in relief. _“Let me finish.”_

Bruce clenched his jaw. “Go on.”

_“Right, so, Leslie’s clinic is a bit busy tonight. Cause of that bust you guys just did, you know? So Leslie has had to prioritize patients. Well, she needed the space, but there was one specific patient she couldn’t let go because of his condition, and since I’m in college to be a nurse, she called me for a favor because this patient is special and can’t just be given to a- No! No! Not on the carpet! Use the bowl! Use the-! Dang it.”_

Bruce’s patience was wearing thin as Stephanie droned on, but the sound of someone spilling their guts, probably on Stephanie’s carpet, made that frustration dissipate.

_“I just need you to send me Jason’s medical records.”_

“What!?”

Bruce’s voice was harsher than he meant it to be, and he watched as his kids tensed, all ready for a fight. They hadn’t heard from Jason since…since…

_“He’s got a fever,” Stephanie huffed. “Leslie didn’t really get a chance to look him over properly when people started showing up after the bust. And Artemis and Bizarro couldn’t stay long either. But he’s literally sick out of his mind, and it might be strep or something, so I need his medical records so I don’t give him anything that could kill him. People can be allergic to penicillin, and I don’t want to kill him.”_

Bruce’s head was reeling. Jason was back in Gotham, sick out of his mind, and Stephanie was taking care of him. None of those three things computed in his head.

_“B? You there? Look, I know you and Jason don’t get along, but can you put that aside for, like, the three minutes it would take you to email me his medical records? I’d call Leslie, but she is literally swamped right now.”_

Bruce opened his mouth, but it was like the words were dying the moment they touched his lips. Tim was already saying something, racing out of the room, probably to send Stephanie the medical records.

_“Gee, thanks for nothing, B!”_ Stephanie hissed, effectively ending the call.

Bruce kind of stared at his phone, brain still trying to process everything. But he couldn’t. His mind was drifting back to a time when he was willing to give up patrol to spend time with his sick and upset son.

\-----------------------------

“Thank you, Tim,” Steph sighed in relief as she read through all of the files she had been sent on Jason. Some of it made her cringe as she read over it. “Right, time to do some tests.”

Jason looked absolutely miserable, stuck to only sipping water until she was sure he could keep anything down. Leslie had already forced him into sweatpants and a t-shirt she had laying around before handing him over. He was pale, constantly shivering, but his head was burning.

She’d already done a strep test and gotten a negative, and she was still trying to find an infection of some sort. Jason still wasn’t talking, and she found herself wishing for Batman’s tech. Her college’s nurse wing didn’t really have as many resources as she would like. Plus, despite her time with Leslie in Africa, she was still in training.

“What’s wrong with you, big guy?” she found herself muttering as Jason shifted in his sleep, jerking as if afraid.

Nightmares, probably. At least, that was what had to be messing with Jason’s head at the moment, and Stephanie couldn’t blame him. She, herself hadn’t died, but from what she had pieced together, Jason’s come-back hadn’t been pleasant.

Her hand brushed against his forehead, and Jason released a startled gasp, but didn’t wake. An action that made Stephanie frown. He seemed to lean into the touch of her ungloved palm, as if trying to reach out and-

Oh!

She picked up her phone again, not daring to remove her hand.

_Stephanie,”_ came the curt, though wary response.

“He’s not sick,” Stephanie explained quickly. “Bruce, Jason isn’t sick. There is no sigh trace of any sort of illness detectable by any sort of machine, despite the many symptoms he’s showing. There’s something else going on.”

A whine escaped Jason’s lips.

“Bruce, he needs you,” Stephanie was desperate now, tucking the phone on her shoulder to hold it to her ear and practically laying her now free arm Jason to test her theory. “If it wasn’t for the fact that Bizarro and Artemis had been so insistent that this was sudden, I would have though Jason had been hit by fear toxin or something. Whatever is going on in his head is killing him.”

Jason’s breathing hitched, though grew steadier at the touch, and Steph let the hand on his forehead shift down towards his pulse, feeling it pound abnormally. His heart was beating too fast.

_“I’m on my way.”_

“No costume,” Steph blurted quickly.

_Stephanie-!”_

“No, B, listen, the only thing helping Jason right now is skin contact,” Stephanie rushed out. “I am doing everything I am comfortable with, but he literally needs someone to hold him. He needs his dad. Not his tormentor.”

The words were sharp, but the situation was dire. And Bruce needed to realize that this was his _son._ Not the Red Hood, not the Leagues Assassin, not the Fallen Prince of Gotham, and not a ghost. This was Jason Peter Todd-Wayne, and he needed his dad.

_“I’m on my way.”_ Followed by the sound of a click as Bruce hung up the phone.

It had been a long night, and Steph was sure the stain on her carpet wasn’t going to be coming out anytime soon. Thankfully, Jason hadn’t thrown up when she moved him to her car, or when she moved him to the medical wing, but, hey. Anything could happen.

Like Bruce actually shaping up and being a decent father! Which was…wishful thinking. Jason’s breathing hitched again and Steph was quick to move her hand back to his forehead. Whatever this was, it couldn’t be pleasant.

“Hang in there, Jason,” she whispered, gently, not sure what could set Jason off. “Bruce is coming. Everything will be alright. You’ll see.”

Jason gave another whine but gave no other response he had heard. Stephanie wasn’t sure how long she sat with Jason, but she continued to whisper assurance, trying to ground Jason. It wasn’t until the doors were thrown open, revealing Bruce out of costume, that she let herself be relieved. Dick was close behind, eyes widening as he saw the state of his little brother. Even Bruce looked rather horrified.

“B!” Steph barked. “He needs you!”

Bruce moved and raced over to Jason’s side, hands grappling for his son. Steph was quick to tug off his shirt, hoping to expose him to more touch. Then, as Bruce situated his son, Steph began a quick clean-up.

“Until we figure out what this is, someone will need to be with him at all times,” Steph instructed, meeting Bruce’s gaze as he pulled Jason to his chest.

“I know,” Bruce agreed, gazing shifting to his son as Jason whined and curled further into Bruce. “I’ve got him.”

Stephanie didn’t stop staring Bruce down. “You had better.”

\--------------------------

Stephanie never once left Jason’s side in the three days that followed. She promised Leslie she would be a dutiful nurse, and that was exactly what she planned on doing. Jason never once woke the entire time, but she didn’t care. She was just glad that both Bruce and Leslie had pulled strings with the college so she wouldn’t fall behind.

The other person who spent almost as much time with Jason was Bruce. The man could often be found holding his son, making Stephanie frustrated on many occasions as he would suddenly disappear after a bathroom or lunch break. But it always warmed her heart to see Bruce holding Jason to his chest, sometimes rocking him, sometimes talking about random things. One time she caught him humming.

Oddly enough, the third person to stick close to Jason was Damian, only barely beating Dick by an hour. The younger boy liked to snuggle into both Jason and his father and read stories he would pluck from Jason’s old room, reading them allowed for everyone to hear. Tim had taken to trying to find a cure, often helping Stephanie whenever he wasn’t occupied with Wayne Enterprises and whatever else was going on.

Still, it was the third day, they still had no answers, and Jason’s eyes were open.

“Jason?” she whispered, not yet sure if she should wake the sleeping Bruce, who was holding Jason to his chest in a vice grip. Stephanie would very much prefer not to be the one to wake a sleeping Bruce Wayne, thank you very much. “Jason, can you hear me? It’s Stephanie. Bruce is here too.”

Jason’s head sluggishly moved towards her, and Steph placed a hand to his forehead. No temperature. The fever was gone. Reaching to the bedside table, Steph hushed Jason’s attempt to speak by putting the straw to his lips.

“Small sips,” she told him gently, brushing hair from his face. “You’ve been unconscious for three days under my care. Artemis and Bizarro took you to Leslie’s and she asked me to look after you. Bruce currently has his arms around you. You’re safe.”

Jason nodded, looking exhausted but grateful, shivering a bit in Bruce’s hold.

“If it’s too hard,” Steph probed, letting the other process the words slowly. “You don’t have to say anything, but can you tell us what happened?”

Jason’s brow pinched, mind clearly trying to remember what had happened.

“All…cast…”

Steph had no idea what an all cast was, but she had a feeling she had heard it before. However, it was clear that Jason was far too tired to keep going, and Steph shushed him back to sleep. She couldn’t stop the smile on her face as Jason curled further into Bruce.

Then she sent a text to the family group chat with the words Jason had spoken.

\----------------------------

The second time Jason woke up, Bruce was awake, and the entire family was watching a movie, all touching Jason in some way. They were watching an old movie, _Zorro_ , one of Bruce’s favorites. Steph hadn’t really been paying attention to the movie, so she noticed when Jason’s eyes opened a second time. She pressed the cup and straw to his lips again, causing Bruce’s grip to tight as he ran circles into Jason’s shoulder.

“Loud,” Jason whimpered, pushing the straw out of his mouth with his tongue. “Loud.”

Duke quickly turned it down, looking at Jason in worry.

“Hey,” and Bruce’s voice is softer than Steph has ever heard it. “Hey, Jaylad. How do you feel?”

“Cold,” Jason’s voice sounded gravely. “Raw. Bad.”

Damian suddenly had his brother’s face between his hands, gently titling Jason in odd angles. Steph was just about to smack the kid upside the head, not caring about the consequences, when Damian gently lowered Jason’s head back onto Bruce’s chest.

“Tt,” Damian scoffed. “Idiot. You should have come here sooner.”

“No offense, Damian, but Bruce and Jason weren’t exactly on the best terms,” Tim pointed out.

Bruce visibly winced at that.

“His eyes are blue.”

“Dami, buddy,” Dick moved to stand beside Damian. “Jason’s eyes have always been blue.”

“Blue with green,” Damian corrected, eyes not leaving Jason’s tired form. “For as long as I have known Todd, his eyes have been blue with green. Someone drained the Pit from Jason’s body.”

Bruce had quickly grasped his son’s head, turning Jason so they were eye to eye. And even Stephanie could see the vibrant blue that was the color of Jason’s childhood eyes. Steph only knew this from pictures she had seen in Bruce’s room, a place she had only recently been given access to.

“All Caste,” Jason whispered again. “Said…said it was…to save me…had to…trap me…in…my mind.”

Damian was an angry small Demon Spawn. Anyone in the family would admit that. Even Jon would admit that Damian was angry, but the sudden fury that took over the child was nothing any of them had ever witnessed from Damian before.

“Rest, akhi,” Damian whispered to Jason. “All will be well.”

Jason shut his eyes, falling back asleep seconds later. And Damian was suddenly eye-to-eye with his father.

“I’m taking Drake and Cain,” Damian stated, clearly no room for argument.

“Not Dick?” Bruce cocked his head, hand now combing through Jason’s hair.

“Drake and Cain are more likely to hold me back.”

Steph wasn’t really sure what was happening, but before she knew it, she was biding Damian, Cass, and Tim goodbye.

“You realize I’m going to corrupt Tam while you’re gone, right?” Steph declared as her goodbye. “Vicki Vale is going to have a field day when she catches your ex and your fiancée hanging out.”

“Steph, I am honestly surprised you haven’t corrupted her yet,” Tim laughed, pulling her into a hug. “Be safe.”

“Should be telling you that,” she punched his arm as they pulled away.

Dick quickly took her place, and Steph forced a hug on Damian. And then her gaze wandered to where Cass was running a hand through Jason’s hair, smiling down at him. She gave the same grin to Steph, and though Steph couldn’t read body language like Cass could, she knew that every aspect of Cass was screaming; love.

Jason slept on as the three left to confront the All-Caste.

\--------------------------

Dick had Jason as Steph and Bruce returned to the cave after a long night of patrol. And Steph’s mind had been distracted ever since she saw the first hint of a gun one of the idiots tried to pull. It hadn’t affected her actions, but it had her tense and deep in thought.

“Do you think Jason will stop killing now that the Pit’s influence is gone?” she finally voiced her thoughts when Bruce dismissed her to change.

Bruce tensed.

“Babs told me once that he was always angry,” Steph continued. “That no one was really sure what happened with that rapist on the building. Do you think he’ll stop?”

Bruce seemed rigid before all of the tension seemed to leave his body in a resigned sigh.

“I don’t know,” he confessed, slowly moving towards Jason’s memorial. “He was always angry, yes. But he had a strong sense of justice. Stronger than mine. I didn’t always agree with his methods when he was Robin, either, but he was my son, and I loved him. I think-I think I spent too much time trying to change him instead of bringing out the good in him.”

Steph eyed the casing.

“It couldn’t hurt to try now,” Steph prompted. There were so many things she wished she had been able to do for her father. For her mother. Maybe steer them on the right track. But it was not the job of one human to force another to change. “Don’t distance yourself because he’s awake, okay? Jason’s been living on anger for so long, perhaps he just needs love. His father’s love.”

Bruce was tense again. “I-I don’t know how to be a good father.”

Steph knew that. Knew that better than anyone.

“You don’t have to be perfect,” Steph stated, placing a hand on Jason’s casing. “You just need to be there. You need to be kind, admit mistakes, _talk to them_. Even though you and Jason have a terrible relationship, he hangs off every word. We all do, B. And sometimes-”

Steph turned to look at Bruce, one hand still on the case of Jason’s memorial.

“Sometimes, B, your words cut deeper than any knife, bite harder than any bullet, and no one knows that better than Jason.”

_Better than me_ , went unsaid because Bruce had manipulated her since they first met, since she first dated Tim. The reason she and Tim were so afraid to date again was because Bruce had never approved of them to begin with. There were so many times when Steph wanted to leave after a fight with Bruce.

“You could probably start by getting rid of this,” Steph motioned to the memorial, watching Bruce go positively rigid. “It’s just a suggestion, B. Do what you want, but, honestly, the longer you keep this, the more you’ll forget you have a son who needs you upstairs.”

With that said, Steph went to go change out of uniform. She had a patient that needed her attention.

\------------------------

Jason was slowly easing out of the need to touch. Rather than be pressed against someone, he could now settle for hand-holding, shoulder touching, tangled legs, smaller touches. It gave him a bit more freedom, but he was slowly growing frustrated with all the people. Which was why Steph may-or-may-not have kidnapped Jason and brought him to her apartment (which, funnily enough, had all new carpet).

Ankles brushing under the table, Steph was working on homework she had to catch up on while Jason read a book, headphones on as he listened to music. They had ordered Chinese take-out and were still waiting for it to arrive.

“How do you spell ambiguous?” Steph asked.

“A-M-B-I, wait, isn’t this cheating?” Jason stopped, looking over to her.

No,” Steph shook her head, smiling innocently. “It called using my resources. And you are my resources.”

Jason rolled his eyes, mouth quirking just a bit. “A-M-B-I-G-U-O-U-S.”

Steph grinned again as she finished writing the word and went back to her paper. A knock at the door disturbed them, and Steph was quick to grab Jason’s hand and drag him to the door with her. Only…it wasn’t Chinese food.

“Haha…hi B!” Steph gave Bruce a rather sheepish smile as he glared at them both. It was just as scary without the cowl. “What brings you here?”

“Jason wasn’t at home,” Bruce stated, his voice flat and unamused. “And neither were you.”

“Aw, didn’t know you cared, dad,” Jason teased lightly, squeezing Steph’s hand.

“I-I can come back,” came an unfamiliar voice from behind Bruce.

Jason and Steph both lunged for the food, Steph throwing money at the guy with a thanks, not seeing how much she had given him, and telling him to keep the change. Jason was already dragging both her and Bruce inside. It had, after all, been Jason’s idea to get Chinese.

“Are you staying,” Jason held up the Chinese like some sort of trophy. “We got dumplings.”

Bruce sighed, cracking a smile (wait…what?) and sitting at Steph’s small dinner table. “There had better be Sesame Seed.”

“What do you take me for, a heathen?” Jason scoffed, already opening the first container. “We got those noodles too. You know, the ones we used to eat together.”

Bruce’s face actually softened. Softened! He let Jason hand him a pair of chopsticks and moved the noodles between them. Jason’s legs were once more tangled with her own under the table as they ate the Chinese, none of them really exchanging any words. It was nice, and Steph easily fell back into her essay.

“So, may I ask why you both came here?” Bruce questioned, though it wasn’t with his usual judgmental stare, and Steph had to nudge Jason for the other to realize that. “You gave us quite the scare.”

Jason gave a weak shrug, poking at the rest of the noodles. “Needed to get away.”

And that was the thing. Of everyone who was a part of the Bats, Steph was the only one who understood how intimidating Wayne Manor could be. Bruce seemed pained but didn’t elaborate, and instead knocked Jason’s chopsticks away to get at the noodles. Now, Steph had seen chopstick wars on TV before. Like gag type stuff that was meant to be ridiculous. So when Jason gave a squawk of betrayal, she certainly didn’t expect to see a live chopstick battle right before her eyes as Jason and Bruce fought over Chinese noodles. It was clear they had done this before.

Yeah. This was nice.

\---------------------------

Tim, Cass, and Damian all came back. All looking beyond satisfied, and Steph was honestly afraid to ask. She knew Bruce would interrogate them later. Right now, Damian was carefully cradling something he claimed to be Jason’s most precious memory.

It looked like a giant glow-thingy.

“This should help,” Damian offered the thing to Jason, who was pressed shoulder to shoulder with Dick. “You’ll still need to be close to people, but you won’t need to keep up physical contact.”

Jason wasn’t really sure how to take the memory back, and Steph couldn’t blame his puzzled face as he reached out a hand. But to everyone’s surprise (though Damian hid it well), the moment Jason’s fingers brushed the glow-thingy, it dissolved into a mist that vanished into Jason’s head. It caused him to stagger away from Dick, and the older practically lunged for his brother. Jason, however, held up a hand.

“I-I’m okay,” Jason said, voice shaking. “I think.”

Steph, the nurse in her, instantly took to observing Jason’s position. He still looked exhausted, but she was glad to note the color had returned to his cheeks. The light and fire returned to his eyes. And then he collapsed into Dick’s arms.

“He’s just exhausted,” Steph assured as the others panicked. Mostly Dick. “The memory probably drained him. I’ll check his condition in a few hours, but he probably needs some sleep.”

Bruce, who now had both Dick and Jason cradled in his arms having lunged at Jason as Dick had, simply nodded. He wasn’t showing emotion, but Steph hadn’t gotten to know Bruce a bit better since their duel care of Jason, she liked to think she could read him a bit.

Obviously not as well as Cass.

“We all go,” Cass placed a hand on Bruce’s shoulder. “Talk upstairs. Rest with Jason, too.”

Bruce nodded at this suggestion, seeming to relax. Steph, however, needed to make sure her medical kit was cleaned before she could give Jason _another_ examination, and excused herself to do so. She had faith that the Wayne family would call her if something happened. Or at least handle it themselves.

She hoped.

Much to her relief, by the time she got back, Damian was reading them all a book, and Jason was smiling with half-lidded eyes as he leaned into Tim. Though he eyed her medical equipment in distaste.

\-------------------------

As predicted, Jason was slowly getting better. So much better that Stephanie got Leslie’s second approval to start Jason on some exercise to rebuild the muscle he lost. Duke, to everyone’s surprise, started that. In fact, Duke had been the only one present in the room when both Steph and Doctor Leslie agreed that Jason could start exercise, and Duke had taken one look at Jason and come up with a routine.

They started with jogging and weightlifting, slowly moving to other simple routines to get his body back in shape. Leslie had put her foot down on any combat training until they were sure Jason was recovered. Steph still wasn’t sure how she talked Bruce into going along with it, but she also wasn’t going to question.

And now that Jason was healing, Steph had a bit more free time of her own.

“Totally aced this test!” Steph brandished the grade proudly, showing her screen to Tam. “You were right about the website, it was a really helpful studying tool.”

“Glad it helped!” Tam laughed, taking a sip of coffee. “Ugh. Oh, that was definitely Tim’s coffee. I have no idea how he drinks _this_.”

Steph laughed again, as she helped Tam rotate out the coffees. The Café they had chosen wasn’t really known for having the best services, but they made the _best_ coffees. Hence why all the names got messed up.

“This is tea,” Steph sipped a cup just to test. “Definitely Jason’s. And this, oh, this smells like Damian’s.”

“Tamara Fox!” an all-too familiar, fakley chipper voice, called out. “What a surprise! Vicki Vale of the Gotham Gazette.”

“Yes, Ms. Vale, we did an interview three days ago,” Tam sighed, clearly resigned.

Vicki was not off-put by her response. “May I ask who your friend is.”

“Stephanie Brown,” Steph was quick to take the attention away from Tam. Least she could do for the poor girl. “I’m a friend of Tam’s and the Wayne Family.”

“Oh?” and wasn’t Vicki just _cute_ when she tried to look savage (note sarcasm). “The Wayne family seems to be rather closed off as of recently. Care to elaborate.”

Steph made a face, thankful for her time as Spoiler and Batgirl to put on a good acting face. “Unless you count a virus as something dirty, then nothing news-worthy. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have engagement, celebratory coffee to deliver.”

And with a smile on her face, Steph dragged Tam away from Vicki Vale.

“You know, next time, we should give her something _really_ news-worthy,” Steph stated as she sipped her coffee labeled Bruce. “Like…like…I dunno…you and Tim are both having an affair with me!”

Alfred nearly swerved off the road and Tam instantly began to die of laughter.

\------------------------------------

Steph only noticed it after she finished her first semester of college. Probably because she had far more free time now to be able to observe, and she wasn’t as worried about Jason tipping over. But she noticed it now.

Bruce Wayne, the emotionally constipated, terrified of being a dad, worst communicator alive; was actually spending time with each of his kids. Outside of the suit. He’d watch Dick do his stunts, always with a promise to catch him if he fell (and that was odd, to learn Dick feared heights). She watched him read with Jason and Damian. She watched him jog with Duke and Jason and Cass. He helped Damian with his pets and even attempted to do art before Damian told him his art was a disgrace with a fond smile on his face. He eagerly went to each of Cass’ dance recitals. And more importantly (to her, at least) she watched him spend time with Tim. Away from cases and business. They’d do puzzles, eat meals together, discuss bizarre conspiracy theories. Steph’s favorite moments were family movie nights (far better than the mayhem of Family Game Night).

All in all, the manor was…better? No, that wasn’t the right word. Warmer. Yeah. The manor was warmer. Like home.

“They’d be proud,” Steph found herself saying. Bruce didn’t say anything as he stared u at his parents picture, but the slight shift in his body gave away that he heard her. She could read him pretty well now. “And not just of Batman. They’d be proud of the man you’ve become too.”

“Hn,” was her only reply.

“Do you know how I know that,” Steph moved to his side, sitting on the floor beside the chair. “Because I’m proud of the man you’ve become. Of the father you’ve become. And if they were anything like you are now, then they’d be proud.”

She sat with Bruce a bit longer, just silence between them both. By the time Steph needed to leave, it was well past lunch.

“Thank you, Stephanie.”

Honestly, past Steph would have believed it to be a trick of her own mind. But she knew Bruce now. She was prat of their odd family.

“Anytime, B.”


End file.
